Old boy - anxiety or dominance? advice needed

[Pugmummy]

I posted a while back that my old boy Prince was unwell & it turned out he had a gastro infection which now all sorted.

But since he has been feeling better his behaviour has changed. We got a pug puppy about 5 weeks ago, Prince does not tolerate him well. He is nippy & jumpy & wants to play and Prince is just not up for that at all. We also have a 9 year old spayed bitch called Megan. Prince & Megan are Labs and are both rescues. We've had Megan for 4 years and Prince coming up for 1 year. Prince is not neutered and at 14 years old I think it would be unfair to have him done now. I'm not sure he would survive the anaesthetic.

So the two labs have been living in harmony, Prince showed a small amount of interest in Megan I.e. Following her when she has a wee & sniffing & licking it afterwards but nothing more. Until the last couple of weeks.

He has suddenly become very sexual towards her, sniffing her neck, trying to hump her. He has bad hips so he can't actually get on her but he tries. He just won't leave her alone, especially when we're out on walks. He is almost attached to her neck.

He is also quite nervous in the car & that is another time he is trying to get on her. When that fails he barks frantically. He has been sick a couple of times in the car & I think he has a negative association with it. But when we go out & is perfectly happy to get in the car, it just when I shut the door he starts.

So I am wondering if he is feeling threatened by the male puppy & feels the need to make Megan his? She is so patient with both of them. Winston is usually hanging off her face & then Prince is trying at the other end!! She has not told Prince off yet but I seem to spend my days telling him to leave her alone.

He also seems to have separation anxiety because when I take my Son over the road to the school bus I can hear Prince barking continuously. Fortunately I work from home so I'm here most of the time but when he starts barking it us difficult to get him to stop.

I just don't think Prince has much time left & I hate to think that is is being spent in a state of anxiety. He hasn't had a great life so far & was kept in a garden & not fed much when we got him. He chases his tail when he just excited but otherwise doesn't really know how to play.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ladydogwhisperer]

Hi. Did you get any response to this post at all??

I would advise a Vet check to start with. I am guessing here but it sound like it could be the start of Canine Dementia. The same thing is happening to my old dog who is 15.

The puppy has also upset his routine which when you have onset of dementia can be very scary. I'm not saying he has it but it is a possibility. They do start to do some strange things. My one acts like a puppy some days and others has started to get a bit nippy.

After the Vet check I would suggest giving him some space from the pup or a place he can go to get some rest on his own. He is an old man and probably just can't cope with a bouncy new puppy. As regards mounting your bitch, I think it is a kind of resource guarding. She is his and wants to show the pup that she is his. I don't believe in dominance theories , it's just that she is valuable to him as his friend and he is afraid of losing her to the pup.

Let me know how you get on.

Kind regards

 

[Pugmummy]

Thank you for your reply. Sadly we had to make the heart breaking decision to send Prince to the rainbow bridge a few weeks ago. He started to mess on himself and was so anxious all the time, pacing at night etc. He went very peacefully and I hope he had a last final year with us.

 

[chalkie222]

Sorry to hear this pugmummy I had to face this last Xmas but at least you can rest assure that while he was with you he had a wonderful life x

 

[Pugmummy]

Thank you Chalkie. It has been a sad year dog wise, we lost one of our other rescues in February after 4 lovely years together. Such a heart breaking experience.

 

[chalkie222]

Very heartbreaking... but our love of dogs means we will do it all over again xxx